Item: Harharagon
Rating: 82
Author: RGN

Harharagon (Icon64 / Psytronik Software)

Game title: Harharagon

Game description: Framed for a crime you didn’t commit, you are imprisoned for life in the galaxy’s most secure prison just because the galactic king did not approve of your relationship with his daughter - Nico. Break out of your prison cell and set off to explore the high security complex looking for parts to a pod that will allow you to escape and spend the rest of your life with Nico. Harharagon is a run'n' gun style of game where you traverse across 230 rooms looking for the 18 pieces of the escape pod all while fighting a large array of enemies, many of which will drop crystals when they are eliminated. With every 200 crystals you gather, you will receive an upgrade to your fire power. You will come across sections that are locked off by gates, which will require you to go and search elsewhere to locate the corresponding key card to unlock that section. Some sections of the game are blocked off by concrete walls and these can only be removed by obtaining the shooting power upgrade when you collect 600 crystals. In addition to key passes and escape pod pieces, you will also find other useful items to collect such as health upgrades and temporary shields.

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Production - 86%

86%
Fun - 79%

79%
Depth - 81%

81%

Summary

By Icon64 standards, Harharagon is considered to be a ‘budget’ title but don’t let this dissuade you from experiencing what is a very solid run’n’ gun style of game that provides about 90 minutes of end to end arcade action. The production values within the Harharagon are strong. The hi-res graphic style is quite attractive and your character moves around the screen very well and the 8 way shooting mechanism makes blasting enemies an enjoyable process. Saul Cross provides the single in-game looping trance-like thumping SID tune that plays throughout the game, which sounds great initially but some might find it too repetitive in the long run.

Most C64 gamers are sure to enjoy Harharagon’s easy to pick up and play game style. It does provide a bit of a challenge as the game requires some grinding style game play to collect a lot of crystals so that you can upgrade your firepower. It’s a shame though that these weapon upgrades are not really more pronounced as they always produce a single shot (albeit each shot upgrade is more effective against enemies).

Exploring the prison complex is enjoyable and the inclusion of an auto map with indicators reminding you what is available in some of the rooms is a fantastic addition. Though you will note that the room layouts are repeated a lot with some modification to colour scheme and types of enemies (hence the ‘budget’ nature of the game).

There is a lot to enjoy about Harharagon. It is quite well executed within its own design scope – nothing really new on offer but what is there is good and sure to appeal to most.